Football is a game of numbers--fourth and inches, the three-man rush, a two point conversion, first down. Even with the obvious numbers in the statistics, rules and game situations, the players' uniform numbers themselves have become part of professional football and its lore. NFL players, like modern-day gladiators, are fitted head-to-toe in protective gear, obscuring even their faces from their most loyal fans. They have become largely identifiable through their uniform numbers. You cannot conjure up Larry Csonka without seeing the number 39 crashing through the line of scrimmage, or recall Lawrence Taylor without imagining the fear his 56 inspired in opposing quarterbacks. This comprehensive reference work lists all 32 current franchises of the NFL and includes brief team histories, statistics and interesting facts. Each chapter ends with an all-time numerical roster listing the numbers 1 through 99 (in some cases beginning with 00) and everyone, from Hall-of-Famer to replacement player, who has ever worn the corresponding number for that club. Four appendices are included.

In Dutch Clark: The Life of an NFL Legend and the Birth of the Detroit Lions, Chris Willis tells the remarkable story of an athlete from a small town in Colorado who would become one of the NFL's greatest players. Throughout his seven-year NFL career (1931-1932, 1934-1938), quarterback Dutch Clark was selected first team NFL All-Pro six times, led the league in scoring three times, was team captain of the Detroit Lions, and helped the Lions win the 1935 NFL Championship in just their second season in Detroit. Supplemented with archival interviews, never-before-seen photos, newspaper quotes, and anecdotes, Dutch Clark tells the rags-to-riches story of one of the NFL's first stars.

Official playing rules of the National Football League. Game Action Editing organizes the rules by the flow of the live game.

A unique, entertaining look at the early days of football and one of its proudest franchises. When Football was Football captures an era in sports history and brings to life its personalities, rivalries, triumphs, and tragedies.

The story of a modern NFL that can't get out of its own way--and can't stop making money For almost twenty years now, the NFL has been simultaneously an athletic, financial, and cultural powerhouse--and a league that can't seem to go more than a few weeks without stumbling into a scandal. Whether it's about domestic violence, performance-enhancing drugs, racism, or head trauma, the NFL always seems to be in some kind of trouble. Yet no matter the drama, the TV networks keep showing games, the revenue keeps going up, and the viewers keep tuning in. How can a sports league--or any organization--operate this way? Why do the negative stories keep happening, and why don't they ever seem to affect the bottom line? In this wide-ranging book, Mike Florio takes readers from the boardroom to the locker room, from draft day to Super Bowl night, answering these questions and more, and showing what really goes on in the sport that America can't seem to quit. Known for his constant stream of new information and his incisive commentary, Florio delivers again in this book. With new insights and reporting on scandals past and present, this book is sure to be the talk of the league.

Showcasing one of professional football's best players, this book spotlights the life and career of gridiron great Tom Brady. More than just a biography, it relates Brady's story while also establishing his prominent place in NFL history. By examining his skills and statistics in a variety of categories and comparing him to other great quarterbacks-including Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Roger Staubach, and more-the guide makes a strong case for Brady as football's best signal caller. Along the way, his best moments as a Patriot are revisited, from championship seasons and his favorite receivers to his relationship with legendary coach Bill Belichick. With detailed sidebars on Brady's celebrity status, fashion sense, much-talked-about hair, and supermodel wife, this is a must-have for faithful New England fans and pro football buffs alike.

"An outstanding work the [soccer] book of the decade." -- Sunday Business Post Inverting the Pyramid is a pioneering soccer book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe. Through Jonathan Wilson's brilliant historical detective work we learn how the South Americans shrugged off the British colonial order to add their own finesse to the game; how the Europeans harnessed individual technique and built it into a team structure; how the game once featured five forwards up front, while now a lone striker is not uncommon. Inverting the Pyramid provides a definitive understanding of the tactical genius of modern-day Barcelona, for the first time showing how their style of play developed from Dutch "Total Football," which itself was an evolution of the Scottish passing game invented by Queens Park in the 1870s and taken on by Tottenham Hotspur in the 1930s. Inverting the Pyramid has been called the "Big Daddy" (Zonal Marking) of soccer tactics books; it is essential for any coach, fan, player, or fantasy manager of the beautiful game.